QW Controls

Almost everything made in this world in made in an industrial environment. From packaged food, tools, appliances, automobiles, chemicals, and the packaging they come is made in an industrial environment. There is also the industries that do not produce anything but are out there ease of living like power plants, waste water, and water purification facilities that also use industrial controls to stay running and monitor systems without humans needing to intervene every second.

The main issue is that it takes people with specific skills to trouble shoot these systems to keep them running, and the number of people that can do these jobs is small compared to the number that is needed. According to a US Bureau of Labor and Statistics, in 2023, 7.7 percent of jobs were in manufacturing. Now this a decline from the 1970 when it was at 31 percent. But with automation, industrial machines can replace the labor of many individuals and produce it faster. But the team to keep the machines working needs to advance its skill set.

Unfortunately, this really has not happened as companies are always out looking for people for advanced skills. At my current place of employment, there is two of us, out of ten techs and three shifts, that can trouble shoot and repair industrial control systems. Some of us call us electricians which is a huge misunderstanding as I do not have a journeyman’s card to call myself one. At my previous company in maintenance, I was the only real one, out of 12 to 15 techs and three shifts, that was able to trouble shoot controls reliably. We are currently trying to hire for more automation technicians as they are calling it, but finding people with the correct skill set is hard.

If you are working in maintenance and looking to get into PLC’s and industrials controls, this is might be the place to start. The better place to go is your local technical college and get involved in Electrical Automation or whatever you college is calling it.